Theme Time

The tune was on record before Martin cut it. In 1962–63, while he was with Martin, Emerson made a series of budget LPs for the Coronet label as Bill Emerson & his Virginia Mountaineers, released as Banjo Pickin’ n’ Hot Fiddlin’ Country Style. The second volume includes the tune under the title “String Time,” played by Emerson with Red Allen on guitar, Frank Wakefield on mandolin and Tom Morgan on bass, at Ben Adelman’s studio in Takoma Park, near Washington. Patuxent reissued a selection of those sides in 2024 as String Time, with the title track identified as “Theme Time.”

Emerson rejoined Martin in June 1965. On 8 July that year the band recorded “Theme Time” at the Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville, with Martin on guitar, Emerson on banjo, Earl Taylor on mandolin, Vernon Derrick on fiddle, Lightnin’ Chance on bass and William Ackerman on drums. Decca issued it in June 1967 as the closing track of the all-instrumental LP Big and Country Instrumentals (DL 4891). MCA later put the same recording out on a single, backed with “Fly Me to Frisco,” in 1973 (MCA 40237).

Other bands took it up. Country Cooking’s 1971 Rounder album 14 Bluegrass Instrumentals, recorded at Cornell University, gave it to two banjos, played by Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka.